Are you guilty of filling (and emptying) the office candy bowl on the regular? Do you push people out of the way to get to the conference room for leftovers before they’re gone (or … maybe that’s just me)?
When you’re sitting at a desk all day and your stress levels are high, who can blame you for craving some chocolate or going for a second (or third, or fourth) lunch?
It’s no surprise that this type of environment has caused workers to feel like they’re packing on the pounds. According to a new CareerBuilder survey, 55 percent of U.S. workers believe they are overweight, and 44 percent say they’ve gained weight at their current job.
Common culprits
When it comes to what causes the weight to pile on, it may actually be less about what a worker eats and more about how much – or little – they move. Fifty-three percent of workers say that “sitting at the desk most of the day” has contributed to their weight gain, while 45 percent blame it on being “too tired from work to exercise.”
Another frequent offender? Stress. Thirty-six percent of workers say that “eating because of stress” is in part responsible for the extra pounds. What’s more, workers who have extremely high on-the-job stress are 53 percent more likely to say they’re overweight than workers who have extremely low stress.